Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/831240
maltatoday, THURSDAY, 1 JUNE 2017 16 CONTINUES FROM 1 He is under- stood to have finally been suc- cessfully transferred to Malta, after local police sent a doctor to accompany the arresting of- ficers. Spiteri was certified fit to fly and stand trial. Spiteri appeared before mag- istrate Josette Demicoli and magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera yesterday morning, but has other pending criminal proceedings before magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona and magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, who is expected to recuse herself, having pros- ecuted him as deputy attorney general. Spiteri's lawyer Stefano Fil- letti asked both magistrates to give him time to acquaint him- self with the case, as he had not seen the volumes of court files – nine in the Gerardini case alone. Magistrate Scerri Herrera upheld the request but curtly warned the accused not to use any more delaying tactics. "He is your last law- yer, I'm not doing them again. I've started this file five times over." In 2014, the court had pro- nounced itself on the unaccep- table delays, she said. In the many cases against him, Spiteri is charged with misappropriation, fraud and falsification of documents. Bail was not requested in either of the sittings. Police inspector Ian Abdilla is pros- ecuting. In September 2015, the West- minster Magistrates Court ordered Spiteri's extradition to Malta on eight separate re- quests from the judicial author- ities over various allegations of fraud after the 51-year-old was arrested in a police swoop on his wife's country estate. The former tax lawyer – he advised the Fenech Adami administration on the intro- duction of VAT in 1995 and then consulted Alfred Sant's Labour administration a year later on the changeover to the infamous CET (Customs and Excise Tax) alternative – had been living permanently in the UK since January 2014 in the €4 million country estate set over 15 acres of land, evading the Maltese courts on eight separate cases linked to fraud and misappropriation charges. He formerly lived in Malta with his partner, Lorna Malt- by, and their three children. Spiteri had simply absconded from Malta after claiming he was unable to be present in court due to his alleged illness, which led him to go to London for treatment for the onset of multiple sclerosis. He had been witnessed walking in Valletta, aided by a walking stick. He never returned to face charges of defrauding an Ital- ian businessman of almost €5 million in the court of Magis- trate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, who at the request of the pros- ecution had to postpone the case indefinitely. Adding to the prosecution's troubles was that investigators were spending a lot of time chasing the money trail in tax havens away from Malta and the fact that Spiteri changed his lawyers several times, which meant the new defence team had to be given time to study the case. While doctors had certified he was not in a position to trav- el back, upon his arrest in 2015 – in a police sting prompted by investigations from The Times that located him using an on- line dating profile – Spiteri was said by arresting officers to be able to walk normally. Spiteri has denied every al- legation of criminal conduct laid against him and provided details of his defence and chal- lenges to everyone of the seri- ous allegations of dishonesty he faces. Spiteri lived in Italy between 2007 and 2010 with his partner Maltby. Between April and July 2009, he was detained under house arrest over allegations of fraud. He then came to Malta where he lived here until 2014, before decamping to the Sur- rey home of Maltby's mother – Elizabeth Spencer. The allegations against Pat- rick Spiteri and subsequent police investigations paint a picture of systematic misap- propriation of monies from unwitting clients. Nicola Sarno, Sisal Shipping Top Trading, Althea Ltd In 2005, Patrick Spiteri was ac- cused of defrauding the Ital- ians of $4.49 million after Nicola Sarno of Avellino, Italy, accused him of making fraud- ulent gains when Spiteri man- aged his finances. Spiteri was said to have given Sarno advice on investing his money outside of the Maltese islands. Through Sisal and Top Trading, which in 1997 merged to create Althea Ltd, Sarno transferred the sum of $5.64 million between 1992 and 2003, for the purchase of a property in New Jersey and a motor yacht. Spiteri used to manage all these transfers and transac- tions. After some time all these assets were sold, and in 1997 the sum of $1.15 million was transferred to Sarno. The problems arose when Spiteri did not transfer the rest of the money. It was discovered that the three companies were used to transfer unauthorised sums of money to third parties. Spi- teri was said to have assumed responsibility for the miss- ing €4.8 million. Proceedings started being heard in 2005 before Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, and all evi- dence by the prosecution has been tendered. The case is now in the defence stage. Mario Abela and Josie Theuma Initially in 2000, Spiteri was asked to invest €142,000 in a Lehman Brothers fund with a return of 18%. Spiteri later in- formed them they had made a profit of 26% upon maturity of their investment; so he encour- aged them to reinvest these funds in a Maltese compa- ny's global depository receipt (GDRs), but the complainants never got their share certifi- cate. Spiteri gave them €32,000 when he convinced them to sell their shares at a premium to non-Maltese nationals, but af- ter that various attempts to re- cover their money were futile. In 2004 Spiteri was arraigned before Scerri Herrera and all evidence by the prosecution has been tendered. The case is now in the defence stage. Luigi Riitano and Once-Up- on-a-Time-Films In 2003, Riitano accused Spi- teri, who was assisting him on VAT issues for a film he made in Malta, of misappropriating €53,000 in VAT refunds. The sum was withdrawn in two batches, and Spiteri refused to pay Riitano back. In 2004, Spiteri was arraigned before Scerri Herrera and all evidence by the prosecution has been tendered. The case is now in the defence stage. Anne Smirthwaite and Ema- nuel Borg The couple, who were plan- ning to retire in Malta, were suggested by Spiteri to invest their money in the Jons Trust, set up on their behalf by Spi- teri. After investing £100,000 (€136,000) they received a let- ter from Portman Holdings in- forming that they were resign- ing their directorship of Jons Trust as no funds had been settled into the trust. They also discovered that more money, a total of £260,000 (€350,000) had been News London Court ordered Spiteri's extradition to Malta on eight separate requests THIS IS A PAID ADVERT